The workes of Geffray Chaucer newlye printed, wyth dyuers workes whych were neuer in print before: as in the table more playnly doth appere. Cum priuilegio ad imprimendum solum.

FUlly haue I nowe declared thyne estate to be good, so thou folowe therafter, & that the abiection fyrste be the ale¦ged in worthines of thy mar¦garite shal not the lette, as it shal forther y^e, & encrease the, it is nowe to de∣clare, y^e last abiection in nothyng may greue.

Yes certes ({quod} I) both greue and let muste it nedes, the contrary maye not ben proued, and se now why. Whyle I was glorious in worldly welfunesse, and had such goodes in welth as maken men ryche, tho was I dra••¦in to companyes that loos, pryse, and name yeuen: tho loutēden blasours, tho curreyden glosours, tho welcomedē flatterers, tho wor¦shypped thilke, that nowe deynen not to loke Euery wight in such erthly wele habaūdant

is hold noble, precious, benigne, and wyse to do what he shall, in any degre that men hym set, al be it that the sothe be in the contrary of all tho thynges: But he that can, ne neuer so well hym behaue, & hath vertue haboūdaunt in manyfolde maners, & be not welthed with suche erthly goodes, is holde for a foole, and sayd hys wyt is but sotted. Lo howe false for auer is holde trewe. Lo howe trewe is clea∣ped false for wantynge of goodes. Also lady, dygnities of offyce maken men mykel comen∣ded as thus: he is so good, were he oute hys pere shuld men not fynde. Truely I trowe of some suche that are so praysed, were they out ones, another shulde make hym so be knowe he shulde of no wyse no more ben loked after: but onely fooles well I wotte, desyren suche new thinges. Wherfore I wōder that thilke gouernoure, out of whome alone the causes proceden, that gouerne all thynges, whych that hath ordeyned thys world in werkes of the kyndely bodyes so be gouerned, not with vnstedfast or happyous thynge, but with ru∣les of reason, whych shewen the course of cer¦tayne thynges: why suffreth he such slydyng chaunges, that mysturnen suche noble thyn∣ges as ben we men, that arne a fayre parsell of the erthe, and holdē the vpperest degre vn∣der god of benigne thinges, as ye saide right nowe your selfe, shulde neuer man haue bene set in so worthy a place, but if his degre were ordeyned noble. Alas, thou that knyttest the purueyaunce of al thynges, why lokest thou not to amenden these defautes: I se shrewes that han wicked maners, sytten in chayres of do nes, lambes to punyshen, there wolues shulden be punyshed. Lo vertue shynende naturallly, for pouertie lurketh and is hydde vnder cloude▪ but the moone false forsworne, as I knowe my selfe, for aue•• & yeftes hath vsurped to shyne by daye lyght, w^t peynture of other mens praysynges: and truely thylke forged lyʒt fouly shuld fade, were the trouth away of colours fayned. Thus is night tur∣ned into daye, and daye in to nyght, wynter into sommer, & sommer into wynter, not in dede, but in mysclepyng of folyshe people.

Now (quod she) what wenest thou of these thynges? howe felest thou in thyne herte, by what gouernaunce y^t thys cometh aboute?

Certes ({quod} I) that wotte I neuer, but yf it be that fortune hath graunt from aboue, to lede the ende of men as her lyketh. Ah nowe I se (quod she) thentent of thy meanyng: Lo bycause thy worldly goodes ben fullych dys∣pente, thou berafte out of dygnite of offyce, in whych thou madest the gatheryng of thylke goodes, and yet dyddest in that office by coū∣sayle of wyse, any thynge were ended: & true were vnto hem, whose profyte thou shuldest loke, and seest nowe many that in thylke her∣uest made of the mokel, and now for glosing of other, deineth the nought to forther, but en¦haunsen false shrewes, by wytnessynge of trouthe. These thynges greueth thyne herte to sene thy selfe thus abated, & then fraylte of mankynde ne setteth but lytel by the lesers of suche rychesse, haue he neuer so moche vertue and so thou wenest of thy iewell to renne in dyspyte, and not ben accepted into grace: All thys shal the nothyng hynder. Nowe ({quod} she) fyrst thou wost wel thou lostest nothing that euer thou myghtest chalēge for thyne owne: when nature brought the forthe, come thou not naked out of thy mothers wombe? thou haddest no rychesse, and when thou shalt en∣tre into the ende of euery fleshly body, what shalt thou haue wyth the then? So euery ry∣chesse thou haste in tyme of thy lyuynge, nys but lente, thou myght therin chalenge no pro¦pertie. And se now euery thyng that is a mā∣nes owne, he may do therwyth what hym ly¦keth, to yeue or to kepe: but ryches thou play¦nest from the lost, yf thy myght had stretched so ferforth, fayne thou woldst haue hem kept multiplied with mo other: and so ayenst thy wyl ben they departed frō the, wherfore they were neuer thyn. And if thou laudest & ioyest any wyght, for he is stuffed with such maner rychesse, y^u arte in y^t beleue begyled, for thou wenest thylke ioy to be selynesse or els ease, & he that hath loste suche happes to ben vnsely Yea forsoth ({quod} I). Wel ({quod} she) then woll I proue that vnsely in that wyse is to prayse, & so y^e tother is y^e cōtrary to be lacked. Howe so ({quod} I)? For vnsely ({quod} she) begyleth not, but sheweth thentent of her workyng. Et ecōtra Selynesse begyleth, for in prosperite she ma∣keth a iape in blyndnesse, that is she wyndeth hym to make sorowe when she withdraweth wolt thou not ({quod} she) prayse hym better that sheweth to y^u hys herte, tho it be with bytāde wordes & dispytous, thē him y^e gloseth & thin¦keth in theyr absence to do the many harmes

Certes ({quod} I) the one is to cōmende, & the o∣ther to lacke & dyspyce. A ha ({quod} she) ryght so ease whyle he lasteth, gloseth & flatereth, and lyghtly voydeth whē she moste plesaūtly she∣weth, & euer in her absence she is about to do the tene & sorowe in herte: but vnsely all be it wyth bytande chere, sheweth what she is, & so doth not that other, wherfore vnsely dothe not begyle. Selynesse dysceyueth: vnsely put awaye doute. That one maketh men blynde, that other openeth theyr eyen in shewyng of wretchednesse. The one is ful of drede to lese that is not his owne: that other is sobre and maketh men dyscharged of mokell heuynesse in burthen. The one draweth a man from ve¦ry good, y^e other haleth hym to vertue by the hookes of thoughtes. And wenyst thou not that thy dysease hath done the mokel more to wynne, then euer yet thou lostest? and more then euer the contrary made the wynne. Is not a greate good to thy thynkynge, for to knowe the hertes of thy sothfast frēdes▪ Par¦dy they ben proued to y^e ful, & the trewe haue dysceuered from the false. Trewly at the go∣ynge of the ylke brotel ioy, ther yede no more awaye, then the ylke that was not thyne pro¦per: He was neuer from that lyghtly depar∣ted, thyne owne good therfore leaueth it styl wyth the. Nowe good (quod she) for howe moche woldest thou somtyme haue boughte thys very knowyng of thy frendes, from the flatterynge flyes that the glosed, when thou thought thy self sely? But thou that playnest of losse in rychesse, hast founden the most dere worthy thynge that thou clepest vnsely, hath made the moche thynge to wynnen. And also for conclusion of all, he is frende that nowe leaueth not hys herte frō thyne helpes. And yf that Margarite denyeth nowe not to suf∣fre her vertues shyne to the wardes, wyth spreadynge beames, as farre or farther then yf thou were sely in worldly ioye: trewely I saye not els but she is somdele to blame.

Ah, peace (quod I) and speake nomore of thys, myne hert breaketh, now thou touchest any suche wordes. A well (quod she) then let vs syngen, thou hearest no more of these thyn¦ges at thys tyme.